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Amanda Bynes boards 'Hall Pass'

Amanda Bynes has joined the cast of the new Farrelly brothers comedy Hall Pass, reports Variety.

Owen Wilson, Jenna Fischer and Jason Sudeikis are already on board for the New Line film, which follows two men who are given a week free of obligations from their wives and attempt to spend the time as hedonistic bachelors.

The Farrellys penned the Hall Pass script with Kevin Barnett and Pete Jones. It will be their first feature since 2007's The Heartbreak Kid.

Former Disney star Bynes's movie roles include Love Wrecked, She's The Man and Hairspray.

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Paltrow joins outbreak thriller 'Contagion'

Gwyenth Paltrow has joined the cast of Steven Soderbergh's viral outbreak movie Contagion, The Playlist has confirmed.

Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law and Kate Winslet have already signed up to star in the ensemble film, which has been described as a thriller about a deadly disease that spreads across four continents. The interconnecting plotlines are similar to Soderbergh's Oscar-winning drama Traffic.

Soderbergh's Informant! screenwriter Scott Z Burns penned Contagion, with production on the $60 million-budgeted picture scheduled to begin later this year.

Soderbergh is currently filming espionage thriller Knockout, about a black ops soldier who is betrayed during a mission.

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Cameron working on 'Avatar' prequel novel

Avatar producer Jon Landau has revealed that James Cameron is working on a prequel novel to his record-breaking blockbuster.

Speaking to MTV, Landau said that the book would flesh out lead character Jake Sully's backstory on Earth before he journeys to Pandora.

"It would be something that would lead up to telling the story of the movie, but it would go into much more depth about all the stories that we didn't have time to deal with - like the schoolhouse and Sigourney [Weaver's character] teaching at the schoolhouse; Jake on Earth and his backstory and how he came here; [the death of] Tommy, Jake's brother; and Colonel Quaritch, how he ended up there and all that," he said.

Cameron earlier told DS that he had to cut down his script from 220 pages before he could start production on Avatar.

"The story was straightened out without as many secondary excursions. All that stuff... I mean really it was quite novelistic. It was like trying to adapt a novel," he explained. "And I found that out the hard way, because when I adapt one of my treatments, I just start writing and I start turning it into scene form. And then I see where I wind up. Well, I wound up at 220 pages. So it's kind of, 'What half of that can you live without?'."

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Efron plays down 'High School Musical 4'

Zac Efron has played down speculation that he will return for the fourth instalment in the High School Musical franchise.

The actor shot to fame as basketball star Troy Bolton in the 2006 Disney Channel original movie, which spawned two sequels. A fourth movie, featuring a new cast, is currently in the works.

When asked during an appearance on 2DayFM's Kyle and Jackie O Show if he would be returning to East High, he replied: "I don't know what else we could do, we graduated high school.

"It might be a bit redundant, we're a bit too old and pretty soon what's to stop us from doing Retirement Home Musical?"

He also addressed rumours that he could star in Spider-Man 4, saying: "To be honest that would be a dream come true. I haven't heard anything about that but of course any young actor would love to fill those shoes and they are big shoes to fill."

Efron and girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens recently arrived in Australia, where Efron is reportedly fronting sunglasses brand Oakley's 'Learn To Ride' surfing promotion.

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Stiller in talks to lead 'Trump Tower'

Ben Stiller is circling the lead role in Universal's heist film Trump Tower, says the Los Angeles Times.

The project, which centres on a group of conmen who break into Donald Trump's New York skyscraper, will have its script overhauled to make way for the Dodgeball star.

Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Chris Tucker have previously been linked to the project, which Rush Hour's Brett Ratner is attached to direct. The movie may have to undergo a name change to Tower Heist to avoid legal problems.

Stiller can next be seen in Noah Baumbach's indie comedy Greenberg playing a New Yorker who moves to LA to house sit for his brother.

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DiCaprio: 'De Niro mantra stuck with me'

Leonardo DiCaprio has revealed that he still thinks about the advice given to him by Robert De Niro years ago.

The actor said that he considered De Niro's words when undertaking the "intense, hardcore" filming of Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, Parade reports.

DiCaprio said: "I did a film with Robert De Niro called This Boy's Life. I was just sort of a wild child that didn't know how to conduct himself on a film set or obey any rules.

"Finally, De Niro said to me, 'Look, I know this may suck right now, but pain is temporary, film is forever. Whatever you do right now is burned into celluloid for all time and for thousands of years to come'."

He added: "That mantra kind of stuck with me, and no matter how hard it was doing a film, I never forgot it. No matter what happens, your work speaks for itself in the end."

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Bridges: 'I'm up for Big Lebowski 2'

Jeff Bridges has admitted that he is keen to reprise his role as The Dude in a sequel to the Coen Brothers' Big Lebowski.

The Oscar-nominated Crazy Heart actor joked to Handbag that his co-star John Turturro would want to keep the sequel for himself.

"I think John wants his Jesus character to have the sequel! That's what I hear," Bridges said. "I'm working with the Coens in March, we're doing True Grit. If they're up for a Lebowski 2 it'd be great to get all the guys together again and do that."

Bridges recently revealed that he watches Lebowski all the way through every time he catches it on TV.

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Jeremy Renner in talks for 'Battleship'

Jeremy Renner is reportedly in talks to star in board game adaptation Battleship.

The Oscar contender, recently seen starring in The Hurt Locker, is in negotiations for a lead role in director Peter Berg's upcoming action film based on the Milton Bradley board game, reports The New York Times.

Renner is also apparently circling another unnamed project that will have the same summer shooting schedule as Battleship.

Meanwhile, the 38-year-old is to appear in Raven, billed as a fictional account of Edgar Allen Poe's final days hunting a serial killer

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Jeffrey Wright joins 'Source Code'

Actor Jeffrey Wright has reportedly joined the cast of director Duncan Jones's Source Code.

Wright joins the already cast Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga and Michelle Monaghan in the sci-fi film.

Jones announced Wright's casting on Wednesday via his Twitter.

"Just met with the lovely Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright. Feeling quite thrilled to have two such scorchingly good actors in Source Code!" he posted.

Source Code stars Gyllenhaal as a man reliving a train bombing over and over again in an attempt to find the culprit.

Wright's credits include Quantum of Solace and W.

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Christoph Waltz joins 'Elephants'

Christoph Waltz has joined the cast of Water for Elephants, according to Hit Fix.

The actor will play a paranoid schizophrenic animal wrangler in the Depression Era drama directed by Francis Lawrence.

The film, which also stars Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, is an adaptation of Sara Gruen's novel Water for Elephants.

The plot features two workers, Waltz and Witherspoon, in a traveling circus. When Pattinson's character joins and later falls for Witherspoon, the liaison incites dangerous consequences.

Waltz recently earned an Academy Award nomination for 'Best Supporting Actor' for his work in Quentin Tarantino's film Inglorious Basterds. The actor will appear alongside Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz in the upcoming screen adaptation of The Green Hornet.

A release date for Water for Elephants has yet to be announced.

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Universal to revamp 'American Pie'

Universal has hired Harold And Kumar writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg to pen a fourth theatrical American Pie movie.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the studio is looking to reboot the film series with several members of the cast from the 1999 original.

American Pie, which starred Seann William Scott, Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth and Alyson Hannigan, centred on high schoolers looking to lose their virginity before graduation. The film grossed more than $200 million worldwide and spawned two sequels, American Pie 2 and American Wedding.

Four direct-to-DVD films followed in the series - Band Camp, The Naked Mile, Beta House and The Book Of Love - all featuring Eugene Levy's character Noah Levenstein.

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McGregor: 'Trainspotting 2 not coming soon'

Ewan McGregor has spoken about the status of the Trainspotting sequel.

According to Cinemablend, the actor revealed that he hasn't received a script for the project and is sure that the film won't be made any time soon.

"I'm not sure I'd want to do a sequel to Trainspotting, just because I think Trainspotting is very important," McGregor said.

He added: "It was an important film for British cinema, and I wouldn't want to tarnish its reputation by making a poor sequel. That's not to say they couldn't write a great script, because they could do that. But I wouldn't hold your breath."

Last November, director Danny Boyle announced that a Trainspotting sequel, based on the Irvine Welsh book Porno, will move forward once the original cast begin to look older.

McGregor added that the storyline will take place ten years after the events of the original film.

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Colin Firth: 'Mr Darcy is like a phantom'

Colin Firth has revealed that he hates being associated with Pride and Prejudice.

Firth, who starred as Mr Darcy in the 1995 BBC production, told The Sun that he wants people to recognise his other work.

"I'm not remotely interested in Pride and Prejudice in any way and haven't watched it since doing it," he said. "But the word Darcy is like a phantom that won't leave me alone, like a school nickname that sticks with you for years afterwards."

He added: "It was as if I hadn't existed before Pride and Prejudice. "I was hailed as a new arrival even though I'd arrived ten years earlier."

Firth also said that he was surprised to be nominated for a 'Best Actor' Oscar for his role in A Single Man.

"Being nominated for this small but special film is like being in a daze," he explained. "I'm probably euphoric about it but I'm too dazed to know how I feel."

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McGregor: 'I like kissing men on screen'

Ewan McGregor has revealed that he enjoys working on nude scenes.

In an interview with Out magazine, the actor explained that the first time he appeared naked was in a play at drama school.

He added: "I remember getting a kind of rush out of that first time, a slight feeling of power about it, you know?"

McGregor, who stars as a gay man in new film I Love You Phillip Morris, also said that he enjoys kissing men on screen.

Speaking about the time he kissed Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Velvet Goldmine, he said: "I remember when I kissed Johnny. It was just a rush at the end of the day.

"It was just an electrical moment, because you look around and some of the British electrician guys - who are all mainly closeted homosexuals, I think - were sitting around going, 'F**k no'. But I like kissing boys on screen. As a straight guy, it's quite an interesting proposition."

He continued: "Anything on a film set that takes you by surprise like that, that gets your blood up, is good. I'm always interested in playing different people, in different situations. It doesn't matter to me whether someone is in love with a man or a woman.

"I find the idea of love and romance interesting. I'm a sucker for it. I like playing someone who's falling in love because I like the sensation of it."

I Love You Phillip Morris is scheduled for release on March 19.

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Rihanna: 'I'd love to be a Charlie's Angel'

Rihanna has declared that she would love to star in a Charlie's Angels remake.

Following reports that producer Nancy Juvonen is interested in casting the singer in a mooted third instalment of the franchise, Rihanna has said that she is eager to participate.

The 'Rude Boy' star told In Touch: "I'd love to be a Charlie's Angel. I'm focused - not solely on music - I'm a very creative person, so I like to find other outlets, such as fashion as well as movies.

"I would love to get into that. But right now we are focusing on the tour and after that I will get into other stuff."

Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Rihanna has been lined up to play a "super sexy dominatrix" alongside Samuel L. Jackson in a reboot of martial arts film The Last Dragon.

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Cameron not returning to 'Terminator'

James Cameron has said that he has no plans to ever return to the Terminator franchise.

The Avatar director helmed the first two instalments of the sci-fi series that helped launch Arnold Schwarzenegger's acting career.

Speaking to MTV, the Oscar winner said: "I have stepped so far away from the Terminator universe... To me, it's run its course."

Cameron stated that he does not intend to play any part in a new incarnation of the franchise, adding: "The soup's kind of been p*ssed in a little bit by other filmmakers."

Hedge fund Pacificor recently won the rights to Terminator following a heated bidding war.

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Damon and Affleck reunite on 'The Trade'

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have teamed up to develop The Trade, according to Empire Online.

The true-life baseball and wife-swapping tale follows New York Yankees players Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich. During 1973 spring training, the players announced that they had traded wives.

The Trade is the first project for the Good Will Hunting collaborators under a new arrangement with Warner Bros.

Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm writer Dave Mandel penned the script, though life rights to the story are still pending.

Affleck will reportedly direct and star in the feature as Peterson, with Damon possibly playing Kekich.

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Diane Nelson addresses DC movie rumours

DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson has addressed Superman movie and Watchmen sequel rumours.

Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan was recently said to be overseeing a forthcoming Superman film reboot.

"We don't have any plans about that," Nelson told MTV News. "And as I've mentioned, in the coming months we'll be making a lot of announcements about what our content plans will be.

"But right now, that's nothing but rumour - and we frankly don't say a whole lot more about rumour than that."

She also denied speculation that DC had any future projects - either in film or comics - related to Alan Moore's legendary Watchmen.

"No, that's all rumour," she said. "I'm not sure where it came from. We'll be looking closely at our whole library and making sure we're looking for opportunities to mine every property where it makes sense, and with integrity, but that's just rumour."

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Hawke signs on for 'The Woman'

Ethan Hawke has signed on as the star in the upcoming film The Woman In the Fifth, according to Empire Online.

The actor will co-star alongside Kristen Scott Thomas in the independent thriller adapted from the Douglas Kennedy novel.

Pawel Pawlikowski will direct the story about a film lecturer who after fleeing scandal in America becomes involved with a dangerous widow in Paris.

The Woman In the Fifth is scheduled to begin shooting in Paris in early March.

Ethan Hawke will also appear in the upcoming television series Moby Dick.

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Stiller stars in new Brett Ratner film

Ben Stiller has joined the cast of the upcoming film Tower Heist, according to Empire Online.

The adventure heist marks the first feature for director Brett Ratner since the 2007 release of Rush Hour 3. Stiller will play the leader of a gang that is attempting to steal back money nabbed by an evil businessman.

Ocean's Eleven scribe Ted Griffin penned the script, which was originally called Trump Heist, and Noah Baumbach will make the final revisions.

Ben Stiller recently appeared in Baumbach's latest film Greenberg.

Other stars reportedly in talks for Tower Heist include Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Chris Tucker.

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